Los Angeles-based Hotchkis and Wiley disclosed in an April 1st SEC filing that it is closing Class B shares to new investors starting April 16th.

Participants in qualified plans can continue purchasing Class B shares, and existing shareholders can reinvest distributions into the share class.

As of February 29th, Class B shares made up less than two percent of the firm's total net assets.

The company spokesman was not immediately available for comment regarding the action.

The share class has been scrutinized by regulators. The National Association of Securities Dealers issued an alert last year urging investors to consider whether buying Class B shares is in the investor’s best interest, "and not just in the interest of your broker...who may receive higher commissions from the sale of Class B shares than other classes of fund shares."

The Thursday SEC filing also disclosed that George H. Davis Jr., CEO of Hotchkis and Wiley, took on co-management of the firm’s Large Cap Value Fund on April 1st. Davis is also co-manager of the firm’s All Cap Value Fund and has been with Hotchkis since 1988.

The Large Cap Value Fund had over $236 million in assets as of December 31, 2003 and was started in October 2001.

Sheldon Lieberman has co-managed the fund with Gail Bardin since 1997.
Bardin leaves the role for retirement. She joined the firm in 1984 and co-managed the fund since 1994. According to a Hotchkis and Wiley release regarding Bardin’s departure, she was the lead portfolio manager for several institutional clients. 

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE